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Created Nov 10, 2007 10:42PM PST • Edited Nov 10, 2007 10:42PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Good 3.0

   The film starts with the toxic waste being poured down the sewers, knowing these deadly chemicals will go straight to the river, as it really happened. We then meet up with our main character, Hie-bong (Byeon). On the outside he seems to be somewhat of a slacker. He is still working for his father and seems to be falling asleep constantly. The one thing that does really matter to him though, is his daughter, Hyun-seo (Bong). Little does he know, that she is about to be ripped away from him.
   A creature emerges from the chemicals in the river. It creates a horrifying monster. Everyone is dumbfounded by what this could be. They really don’t have much time to think about it though, since it quickly starts attacking. It swims to the shore and runs after everyone it sees. It kills and captures many people. Everyone in the area is in panic, running for their lives. Hie-bong escapes a few close calls with the monster. He finds Hyun-seo and tries to get her away from it. Unfortunately, Hie-Bong somehow loses his daughter’s hand and ends up with another girls’ hand instead. The next thing he sees is Hyun-seo getting swooped up by the monster and taken away with him back under the river. Just like that his only daughter is gone.
   Everyone is sent away where they are supposed to be told what is happening. They are told hardly anything though. The news is supposed to explain it, but at the time they aren’t broadcasting anything regarding the crisis situation. Everyone who was there or was in the presence the monster is being sent to the hospital in body bags. They are told that this monster has a virus that he is spreading. A few of the victims start to die and many are basically being held as prisoners in the hospital. Hie-bong is having a very hard time with this. He can’t believe his little girl is really dead. Then he even gets a call from her telling him that she is in the sewer. Of course, the doctors don’t believe him and claim that he is out of his mind, since they have already declared her dead. Hie-bong can’t be comfortable there, knowing that it is up to him to save his daughter. He is also there with the rest of his family. They work together and manage to escape the hospital. From this point on though, everyone is on the look out for them. They might as well be convicted killers. They are desperate to find Hyun-seo though. She is having a rough time as well, stuck in the sewer, trying to take care of a little boy who was also captured, running from the monster, and making an effort to escape.

4. Acting

   Good 3.0

   The main complaint I have wasn’t even originally part of the movie- the English dubbing. It sounds very cheesy and fake. After a few minutes, I got used to it though and was able to ignore it and focus on the movie itself. So if you can bear to read subtitles, it seems to be the better option. That way the actor’s performances are preserved.

5. Male Stars Good 3.0

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    The Host was really an impressive film. It was like a combination of Godzilla and 28 Days Later. The monster in the film looked like an aquatic dinosaur. It clearly had power and it seemed like it was a representation of government; they have power and that power can be used in a harmful way. The whole reason everything in this movie happened was the carelessness of a U.S. military employee. That is definitely a slam on the U.S. government, especially coming from a South Korean’s script. The monster is also an exaggeration of what consequences are. Since in the real life situation no legal action was taken for quite some time, the monster served as a bigger consequence.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Great 4.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 2.9

    Being part monster movie, The Host, obviously has a lot of action-pact sequences and is very much about survival. The key is to survive both the evils that are currently in the air. It tests people’s strength, physically and emotionally. We find out what people’s hopes and fears are in this process.

17. Sex Erotic 2.9

18. Violence Brutal 2.9

19. Rudeness Profane 2.9

21. Reality

    Surreal 3.0

    The Host may seem more like a fantasy, but it just uses an actual monster to show you other supported evils in society. The monster is the obvious evil, but the doctors and other authority figures are the more unexpected ones. They both caused crisis, through attack and epidemic. The doctors treated the citizens very poorly. As it turns out in the end, they weren’t being truthful at all. Their actions were immoral and full of deceit. It makes you question how much one can trust in others, as the employees were blindly loyal, which again was the whole cause of the monster in the first place.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 3.0

23. Biological Surreal 3.0

24. Physical Surreal 3.0